Little white bugs ....what are they?

[CanIbeRio]

I have an Acer in my garden. Part of it is covered in theses little white bugs which look like tiny skinny grains of rice. The parts if tge Acer which are covered in these things is shrivelled and dying. What are they and how do i get rid of them? Thanks

They look like the cast skins of greenfly ( juveniles shed old skins as they grow larger). Might explain why the Acer is looking unwell, maybe it has had an infestation of greenfly.

Ah...thanks Nan....that's interesting. Any ideas how I can try and revive tge Acer. I'm guessing I can just brush off these white things then?

The cast skins will probably wash off with the next rain shower, I expect. Without seeing the whole of your Acer, it’s difficult to tell how bad it is. Try posting a pic with a better view.

Oh thanks for your help....here's a few photos. Parts of it look quite healthy and it has recently flowered but parts look really withered and dry . Hope you can see what I mean by these poitos

Ah, well it’s not an Acer, it’s Sambuca. nigra ‘Black lace’. Maybe pruning off the dying branches would help? I don’t know why those branches are dying back, but if they can be cut out without damaging the plant too much, I would do that. I don’t think greenfly would have caused that damage.

Definitely a black elder, Sambucus Nigra Black Lace. Just cut that branch off before it spreads. It is probably verticillium wilt, which can be transmitted by greenfly among other things.

Oh...thanks both. As you have probably gathered...im no gardener !! I'll have a go at pruning off those dying bits. How big will this grow? It's a very uneven bush....all the growth seems to be on the left not right

They can grow massive - like 20ft!

They do grow fairly big if just left to their own devices, but you can cut them down hard each year (almost to the ground) and they will grow back beautifully the next year again. So it’s not hard to keep them quite small.

Thank you all for your help and knowledge! I'll be attacking my Acer imposter with a pair of secateurs imminently!